Tandem mill



l. H. TOLLES Aug. 10, 1937.

TANDEM MILL Filed Dec. 18, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. flew/v6 /7. 704455 ATTORNEYS.

I. TOLLES 2,089,311

TANDEM MILL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 18, 1935 A INVENTOR. l/x/ve bf T044615 Patented Aug. 10, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TANDEM MILL Irving H. Tolles, Waterbury, Conn., assignor to The Waterbury Farrel Foundry and Machine Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 18, 1933, Serial No. 702,929

9 Claims.

This invention relates'to a new and improved tandem mill designed. to reduce the cross sectional area of a piece of stock, such as a wire, rod, billet or the like, by successive compression operations. a I

It is the'object of this invention, among other things, to produce a mill of this character wherein a piece of stock, irrespective of its cross sectional shape, may be reduced to a predetermined cross sectional area by passes through successive pairs of rolls and at a speed greater than is possible under the present practice; to reduce stock having an initially larger cross sectional area than heretofore has been possible; and to increase the capacity of the mill by providing means whereby stock of varying initial cross sectional areas may be passed therethrough; as well as-to produce a mill having the above and other characteristics and capable of producing a finished product of higher grade than heretofore possible, at an increased speed and at a minimum cost.

Tothese, and other ends, this invention consists in the tandem mill having certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In theccnventional type of tandem millnew sets..of rolls are installed for each size stock. Taking out the old rolls and installing proper sized new rolls requires much'skill, and during the operation the mill is idle. The cost and maintenance of many rolls of various sizes is objectionable.

,Again, the roll journals develop much heat and causean expansion and distortion of the rolls and a corresponding variation in the diameter thereof. Such changes affect the thickness and shape, and-therefore, the area of the stock passing therebetween. This change in area in turn affects the speed of the stock where such change occurs, and it no longer synchronizes with the speed of the rest of the mill, thus causing excessive slipping of the rolls on the stock or buckling of the stock.

These. and other objections to the tandem mills, now in common use, are not present in the instant invention, wherein the roll journals have anti-friction bearings and the rolls a plurality -of, grooves in the face thereof, which in each of a series of rolls are adjustable into a common or work line, so that without taking down the rolls andsubstituting new ones therefor, stock having different initial cross sectional areas may be perated upon. The rolls are provided with antifriction bearings of such nature and construction as to practically eliminate the development of frictional heat suflicient toafiect the diameter of the rolls.

The advantageous feature of the invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings, which disclose for illustration only one form in which the invention may be applied.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts in the several figures:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tandem mill embodying the invention herein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross section thereof, taken generally upon line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevation looking in the direction of the arrows in Figure 2;

Figures 4, 5, and 6 are diagrammatic views illustrating various positions of the rolls relative to the work line; and

Figure '7 is a view of a wire or rod illustrating the various changes in its size as it passes through the rolls, each variation in area being the result of application of pressure thereto by one pair of the series of rolls.

In the drawings, indicates the machine bed that is supported upon suitable legs II, with a motor 12 attached to the bed to provide a source of power for the drive shafts 13, through any convenient connection.

Mounted in the journal members [0' of the bed 10 at a right angle to each other, and inclined relatively to both a vertical and a horizontal plane, are a plurality of shafts l4, each having a drive gear l fixed thereon at its inner end. These shafts are spaced along the bed It] in predetermined positions, and upon each shaft are suitable anti-friction bearings I6, I1, and I8, to properly take care of radial and thrust loads. The bearings I8 are held in spaced relation to each other by a spacer ring 19 in member ID.

Secured to the bed, adjacent to the upper end of the shafts I4, is a fixed retaining plate 20, Within which is a filler ring 2| that is free to rotate within the plate and also with the shaft.

,Preferably fixed on the hub of the drive gear I5 is a relatively wide face pinion 22.

Adjacent to each shaft are the housings 23, in the base of which is threaded a screw 24, which is rotatable in and held against endwise movement by the fixed plate 25. These housings are so mounted upon the bed ID as to be moved thereon between the ways 48 substantially parallel with the axis of the shaft [4, and each housing is adbearing rolls 3 l,; arranged at an angle to the axis' of the rolls 2! and 28, and at an angle to'each" The bearing rings 29 are held against outward movement by the filler rings 32, assisted in the case of the roll 28 by the nut 33. Therace:

other.

rings 30 are held against outward movement by a fixed retaining plate 34. Any other form or combination of anti-friction bearingsthatwill take care of radial and thrust loads may besubstitute-d for the form herein shown, if desired.

On each of the rolls 2! and 28- are the pinions' 35, the teeth of which mesh into each other, and. whereby the roll 28 is driven from the roll 21."

Uponv the rollll. :a. gear .36 is .fixed, the't'eeth. of which mesh into those ofthe pinion- 22. The. widths of. the faces: of the pinion-22 and gear 38- are such that there may be a relative axial move- 25.? ment' therebetween. while retaining theintermeshing engagementof the teeth.

The rolls 2'! and. 28 are maintained in proper relationto each other'by-means of the screws 31 in the housings, which engage the bearing housings 0. 26, or a bearing :plate therebetween, if desired, and may be rotated synchronously from ashaft 38 having a pinion 39 therein, which meshes into the gearsAIl. v I

A graduated disk 4| fixed on one of the screws 3 I 3l-with' a finger 42 fixed relatively thereto, provides convenient means foran exact adjustment of the rolls toward and away from each other. As disclosed, each roll is provided with three grooves, severally designated 43, 4'4, and 45,which .0 are of varying depth-and'shape as may he desired:

In the tandem mill thereis acommon workline, in 'which the 's'tock always travels, irrespective of the groove in whichitmay be in contact. This workline i's-at the intersection of the 4, lines- AA and BB, and remains constant, and the several grooves are brought into register therewith. -'"-I-n -Figures 2 and 4 the grooves-'4 of the several rolls are in-the work line. 1 In Figure 5 the rolls have, been adjusted through the movement of the housings by the with the work'lina screw 24, so that the grooves-43 are in -register In Figure 6; by 'a similar movement, the grooves 45 are brought into-register-withthe work line. The wire or rod enters the machine-atthe left- (Figure l) and as it successively passesthrough each of the-series of rolls, its crosssectional area is reduced. Therod illustrated in Figure 7 is one that has beenrem'oved from the rolls before com'-- 60. pletion of pass and after its areahas been reduced by eachofthe successive pairs of rolls. The portion 46 at one end being the finished cross sec- 7 ti'onal area and the other end 41 the area as it approaches-thefirst set of rolls. Thus, with the tandem mill shown herein having 'each roll p'ro--- vided with three grooves and with six pairs of rolls, it is possible toobtaineighteen area reduc- I tions uponone and the same wire or ro'd-.--'-"The-- adjustment of the rolls relative-to the shaft-'14 7011s permissible by reason of'the met thatth'e teeth on the gear 36 slide ax ially in-those of the pinion 22) Each pair of rolls delivers the wire or red at" a'higher lineal'speed than the previous pair ofrollsand the increase-lengthening of the steak-is accommodated-by relatively higher speeds 'of'the-- as it is capable of numerous modifications and changes Without departing from the spirit of the claims.

1 What is claimedisr 1. In a tandem-mill, a bed having substan- 15 tially parallel sidewalls, one upon each side of the longitudinal center of the mill; a plurality of relatively short driven shafts journaled in the upperend of each of said side Walls at an angle thereto, whereby the said shafts incline down- 20 wIa-rdly and Einwardly .and at. their: inner ends are spaced from each, other, shaft means in the; space. between said: walls locat'ed bel'owqthe respective driven shafts and extending longitudinally of. the

bed, means to drive all of the driven shafts'from' said shaft means,ia pluralityiof' housings movably'mounted upon the topxof each side wall and spaced from each other in parallelrelation; meansconnected with the. bedfor independently mov-- ing eachhousing toward and; away fromv the said longitudinal: center of: the bed, a. roll: housing" mounted within each of said. housings, a-pain ofrolls journaledin each. roll housing,.and means. to operate the rolls from the driven shafts. in.

various-positions relative to the: drive shafts. 5':

2. A mill for rolling material, having. a bed; formed with spaced sides and a top'that has: apair of faces that incline; downwardly and in.- wardly from the said sides, whichsidesandrtops.

enclose an open space, withl an opening betweeniio the inner lower-ends of said. tops, a. pluralityof driven shafts journaled in the undersidezof said 1 tops, shaft means in said open space substantially' par-allel with- 'and between the said outer sides and below the driven shafts; meanswithin said open space to actuate thedriven shafts from the shaft means, housings onthe upper side ofeach face which correspondingly incline-downwardly and inward1y, rolls journaled in the housings which alsoincline downwardly and inward; 50, I;

ly and" substantially parallel ;with and-spaced from theadjacent' driven shafts,- means for mov ing the-housings toward andaway'from each: other upon said top faces, and means in part Withinsaid openspace-to operate the rollsfrom 5;

thedriven shafts, bearingrings upon the journ'als of the rolls having oppositely disposed flared portions which incline toward' the journals, race rings exteriorly of the bearing rings having correspondingly flaring faces, and roller bearings- 0 engaged withthe respective flaringfaces, and which incline at their'outerendstoward the roll journals,and-means to'drive the rolls, there beingat least onepair ofroller bearing devices for 1 each roll and whereby the development of fric -6 5 tional heat is practically eliminatedthat would otherwise control the diameters of the rolls through temperaturevariation.

" 3i"A "millfor rolling material, having a'bed formed with spaced sidesand a' to'pthat a. 70.;

pair of faces that inclinedownwardly and inwardlyfrom the said si'des, housings onthe upperside of each face which correspondingly incline downwardly and inwardly, rollsjournaled in the 5 housings which also. incline downwardly and-in:

wardly, bearing rings upon the journals of the rolls having oppositely disposed flared portions which incline toward the journals, race rings exteriorly of the bearing rings having correspondingly flaring faces, and roller bearings engaged with the respective flaring faces, and which incline at their outer ends toward the roll journals, and means to drive the rolls comprising in part a shaft for each set of rolls that is substantially parallel with and spaced therefrom and of approximately the same length, there being at least one pair of roller bearing devices for each roll and whereby the development of frictional heat is practically eliminated that would otherwise control the diameters of the rolls through temperature variation.

4. In a tandem mill, a bed having substantially parallel side walls, one upon each side of the longitudinal center of the mill and the top of each wall being formed with an inwardly and downwardly inclined portion that is substantially flat upon its outer surface and terminates adjacent to and spaced from the inner end of the similar portion upon the opposite wall, and a plurality of journal members substantially parallel with said fiat surfaces and each other that are spaced from each other lengthwise of the mill and positioned between the side wall and the underside of said inwardly and downwardly inclined portions; a plurality of driven shafts, substantially parallel with each other, that incline inwardly and downwardly from the side walls, one of these shafts being mounted in each of said journal members; shaft means in the space between the side walls and below the driven shafts that extend longitudinally of the bed; means to actuate the driven shafts from the shaft means; a plurality of housings on each of said substantially fiat surfaces, spaced from each other; means between a fixed part and each housing to move the latter and retain it in its several positions; a roll housing mounted within each of said housings; a pair of rolls journaled in each roll housing; and means to actuate the rolls from the driven shafts the arrangements of the partsbeing such that the driven shafts and adjacent rolls are substantially parallel with each other and spaced therefrom, and the housings and rolls are supported by the respective side walls therebetween and the bottom of the bed.

5. In a tandem mill, a bed having continuous side walls, substantially parallel with and spaced from each other and a trough shaped top open at the bottom, comprising two inwardly and downwardly inclined platforms that extend sub stantially the length of the side walls, a plurality of roll housings, and rolls within said housings, some of said roll housings being mounted upon a platform upon one side of the longitudinal center of said bed, and the other of said roll housings being mounted upon the platform upon the opposite side of the longitudinal center.

6. In a tandem mill, a bed having continuous side walls, substantially parallel with and spaced from each other and a trough shaped top open at the bottom, comprising two inwardly and downwardly inclined platforms that extend substantially the length of the side walls, a plurality of roll housings, rolls within said housings, and shafts and gear means for actuating said rolls, some of said rolls, roll housings, shafts and gear means being supported upon one side of the longitudinal center of said bed by the side wall upon such side and the other of said roll housings, rolls, shafts and gear means being supported upon the opposite side of said longitudinal center by the side wall upon such side.

7. In a tandem mill, a bed having continuous side walls, each of which terminates at its upper end in an inwardly and downwardly projecting platform substantially the length of the side walls, a plurality of roll housings movablymountedupon the top of each of said platforms and alternately projecting across the longitudinal center of the mill, rolls within said housings, and a plurality of driven shafts journaled in said platforms below the surface upon which the roll housings are mounted for actuating said rolls.

8. In a tandem mill, a bed having spaced side walls, one upon each side of the longitudinal center of the mill and each terminating at its upper end in an inwardly and downwardly projecting platform, the inner ends of the platforms being spaced from each other; a plurality of roll housings and rolls within said housings movably mounted upon the top of each of said platforms and so arranged that the upper ends thereof project over the longitudinal center of the mill and are staggered in relation to each other; and a driven shaft for each pair of rolls journaled in one of said platforms below the surface upon which the roll housings are mounted.

9. In a tandem mill, a bed having substantially solid spaced side walls extending substantially the length of the mill, one upon each side of the longitudinal center of the mill and each terminating at its upper end in an inwardly and downwardly projecting platform, the inner ends of the platforms being spaced from each other; a plurality of roll housings and rolls within said housings movably mounted upon the top of each of said platforms and so arranged that the upper ends thereof project over the longitudinal center of the mill and are staggered in relation to each other; a driven shaft for each pair of rolls journaled in one of said platforms below the surface upon which the roll housings are mounted; and means for maintaining the rolls in proper relation to each other in the housings, and actuated from that side of the mill opposite the platform upon which the roll housing is mounted.

IRVING H. TOLLES. 

